Bendigo development knocked back again

By
EMMA-JAYNE SCHENK

A CONTROVERSIAL residential development in North Bendigo has been refused by Victoria's planning tribunal for the second time.

Cr James Williams speaks about the Nolan Street application.

A CONTROVERSIAL residential development in North Bendigo has been refused by Victoria's planning tribunal for a second time.

The development, which received 30 objections, would have seen four lots of two-storey dwellings built on a site in Nolan Street.

It came before the City of Greater Bendigo in January this year, with councillors once again going against the officers' recommendation and refusing the application.

Nearby residents have also opposed the development since it first came to council in August 2012, fearing it would create a loss of privacy and sunlight, an increase in noise, and impact on the streetscape.

The applicant refused to meet with objectors throughout the proposal process.

In its recent decision to refuse the revised application, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal said the applicant had not addressed the fundamental design problems listed in the first application.

The first proposal - comprising five lots and five dwellings - came before VCAT in June last year; the tribunal refused the application, while recommending several conditions.

Despite many of these being addressed in the second proposal, VCAT said the design was still amiss.

"The changes do not address the fundamental problems with both of these applications which concerns the number of dwellings, the basic layout on the site, the physical relationships between dwellings and the extent of paving, crossovers and car storage within the front setback," the report states.

"One of the major problems with repeat appeals is that the applicant often tries to tick off each of the specific criticisms to the earlier proposal without addressing the more fundamental design concept. So it with this proposal."

VCAT said the building components should be separated to reflect neighbourhood character and create a less dominant streetscape.

The tribunal also dismissed resident concern over parking, drainage and traffic, saying those aspects of the proposal were satisfactory. ​